By Ava Green

Is there anything sweeter than the scent of Lilacs in the spring? These beloved shrubs are remarkably easy to grow and will reward you with weeks of fragrant blooms for little or no effort. But a bit of attention can make a big difference, especially if you’ve noticed your blooms getting smaller or fewer with each passing year. 

To help your lilac put on its best show, keep these steps in mind:

• Plant in full sun, at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day, in well-draining soil
• Water newer plants during prolonged periods of drought until established (the first 3 years)
• Feed your lilacs annually with a balanced fertilizer (10-10-10, for example)
• Follow spacing instructions and prune yearly. Pruning is a very important step, and it’s well worth it.

Knowing When to Prune is Key

Timing is everything when it comes to pruning your lilacs. After the blooms fade, you have a two-week window to prune before the shrub sets its buds for next year's flowers. Yes, they set buds this year that will bloom next year! Pruning lilacs in the fall or the early spring risks cutting off all of the flower buds for the following year. Mark your calendar and prune promptly after flowering.

It also helps to understand how lilacs grow: Younger, thinner lilac stems produce more flowers. Older, thicker stems are more prone to disease and pests. Keeping this in mind will help with pruning decisions.

How To Prune Young Lilacs

If your lilac has been in the ground for less than three years, leave it alone; it doesn’t need pruning yet. Many young lilacs won’t bloom during those first few years.

After three years, once your shrub is established, begin by removing just one of the thickest, oldest stems down to the ground every 2 years. This gentle approach prevents the shrub from becoming overgrown while encouraging newer, flower-producing growth. 

How To Prune Older, Overgrown Lilacs

If your lilac has been neglected or grown out of control, you have two options:

Option 1: Gradual Rejuvenation

Begin by removing any damaged stems, as these invite pests that can harm the entire shrub. Next, remove only the largest, oldest stems by cutting them right down to the ground. The key is to remove no more than one-third of the living wood (dead stems don’t count toward that total). Leave the younger, thinner stems intact so your shrub can still bloom the following year. Repeat this process each spring for three years, and you’ll gradually restore the shrub to its full, flowering potential without sacrificing a single bloom season.

Option 2: Full Cutback

For a severely overgrown lilac that has been largely ignored, a complete cutback is often the most practical solution. Cut the entire shrub as close to the ground as possible, either in early spring or immediately after blooming. Yes, this breaks the general rule of never removing more than one-third of live wood, but lilacs are remarkably resilient and respond well to this kind of hard reset. By the end of summer, you will have healthy new stems of three to five feet tall. While the shrub won’t bloom for approximately three years after a full cutback, the long-term results are well worth the wait.

Deadheading Your Lilacs

Deadheading, or removing spent flower clusters after the blooms fade, is a simple task that’s separate from pruning, and can be done during that same two-week post-bloom window. When you trim off faded blooms, the plant redirects its energy from seed production toward building bigger, healthier buds for the next year. It takes only minutes and can make a meaningful difference in the size and abundance of next year’s flowers. 

A Note on Lawns and Lilacs

If your lilac grows near a lawn, be mindful of how much fertilizer you’re applying to the surrounding grass. Lawn fertilizers are typically high in nitrogen, which encourages lush leaf growth, but too much nitrogen reaching your lilac’s roots will suppress flower production.

Worthy Rewards

Lilacs are remarkably long-lived, often outlasting the gardens and even the homes they were planted beside. So whether you’re nursing a young shrub through its first few years or breathing new life into an old, overgrown beauty, the effort you put in now is an investment that will keep rewarding you, and perhaps generations after you. Every single spring!

By Dave Zeldon and Ely Schweyer

Got cabin fever? Perhaps you’re going a little stir crazy looking out the window and seeing the drab, limited pallete in your seemingly lifeless outdoor space. It’s important to embrace this time of year as the composting and cleansing part of Earth’s cycle before spring’s renewal – but that doesn’t mean we should be trapped inside forever. Here’s a winter/early spring list of activities, divided by indoor (Part 1) and outdoor (Part 2), for the gardener and yard keeper.

☝️ First, let’s quickly note the important activity happening under the snow – and how your actions now will affect the summer garden!

What's Going on Outside When We Aren't Paying Attention?

Before heading out to attend to these jobs have a look at the ground beneath you.

   If it is frozen hard you are good to go but avoid treading on the crowns of perennials.

   If it has been warm and sunny and the soil is warm and dry, consider laying down a few planks to walk on.

   If the soil is soggy then postpone those tasks until it has dried. What we are trying to protect is not your shoes but the soil itself.

   Ideally, soil is comprised of 50% solid materials such as minerals and organic matter in various stages of decomposition, and 50% open air space. Water from rain or melting snow enters the soil, displacing the air. Wet soil is easier to squish down and that process is called compaction.

   While walking on wet soil would not seem to have much effect, it occurs within the depth where annuals, perennials and lawn grasses have their roots. Compaction makes it harder for roots to grow through the soil. Roots can grow stronger to push aside the soil particles, but tougher roots are less effective at drawing in nutrients and moisture. Removing air spaces makes it more difficult for water to percolate down so compacted soils remain wetter. Plants don’t grow as well and are more prone to insect damage.

   The freeze/thaw cycles of fall, spring, and winter heave the soil relieving compaction and aerating the soil; a good way to start the growing season. Preventing further damage to the soil is relatively simple. Stay off it when it’s wet. Later, consider using pavers or pathways in heavily travelled areas of the lawn. Aerate the lawn with a machine that removes small plugs of soil and redistributes them over the surface. In beds and borders, add compost and use a thick mulch layer to absorb some of the pressure.

 And stay off it when it’s wet.

With this in mind, we can appreciate Earth’s renewal capabilities, as well as prevent destroying our yards and gardens!

Part 1: Activities for When it’s too Cold and the Soil isn’t Ready Yet

Yup, it’s bleak out there. It’s time we make that herbal tea and turn our attention to creating a lively, green indoor environment, even if just to get us through the winter. Here’s a to-do list for trapped gardeners and plant enthusiasts to make the most of our wintry sentence.

Indoors: Get Inspired!

• Expand your knowledge: There’s an endless plethora of botanical media at our fingertips, use this down time to learn more!

• Sustainable winter crafts: Why buy décor and gifts when you can make them from materials found outside? Perhaps you dried flowers or found some interesting seed pods – time to display them, and perhaps, eventually compost them.

• Visit botanical gardens: Ely’s boyfriend took her to the Royal Botanical Gardens as a birthday gift last year! Botanical gardens are a great way to experience interesting plants being preserved in a welcoming environment that differ from the dreary winter outside.

• Get floral: Try buying flowers and displaying your own arrangements! Colour is something we sometimes lack in the wintry months, and this is a good way to introduce it impermanently.

Indoors: Thinking Ahead!

• Use this winter down time to plan the next garden season - find more here on garden planning. 

• Use a garden journal to assist your garden planning - see here inspo for garden journaling. 

• Consider planning companion plants - see more here on companion planting.

• Go pot shopping – your local greenhouses and ceramic shops would love your support in the winter.

Indoors: New Beginnings!

• Bulb forcing and small science experiments: Flowering bulbs like amaryllis (more on amaryllis here) aren’t just a holiday splendor! Now is also the time to create cuttings to share with friends.

• Invest in winter fruiting botanicals like indoor fruit trees. Small, potted citrus by the window don’t only liven up the place but offer nutritious treats in the winter. Consider a calamondin!

• Microgreens - see our blog about it! When it’s too early to start seedlings that will go in the ground, you can still garden right on your kitchen counter.

• In late winter, start seedlings: but make sure you don't do so too early! Untimely seedlings can be too leggy before it's time to plant them outside - learn about hardening off seedlings here.

Part 2: When the Soil IS Ready!

Suit up!

Outdoors: Don’t Fall Behind!

• Appropriate seasonal décor: It goes without saying stringing lights and ornaments everywhere is good for the spirits in these dreary months… however 😬… come February, they seem to lose their vigor. Taking the décor down in preparation for new exciting things to come is also good for the soul! Remember to recycle your Christmas tree (see how here)!
• Turn your compost! Perhaps you’ve faithfully continued to add to your compost all year – your garden thanks you! On a warm day, remember to turn it and aerate it so it’s ready for spring.
• Cover all your bases: Make sure to prevent rodents from damaging your tree bases by wrapping them well above the anticipated snow level – so rodents can’t chew your unprotected trees with the helpful elevation of snow!

Outdoors: Get Inspired!

• Go for nature walks: if you can safely go for a walk, hit the trails or stroll around your neighbourhood! A slow-paced change of scenery will help to fight your cabin fever, keep you active, and help you gather inspiration from the natural world.

• Visit your local maple syrup producers for tours.

• Don’t forget our critters: Provide winter homage and appropriate food for our nonmigratory friends (i.e., hutches and feeders) outside windows where pets can observe nature too!

Outdoors: Thinking Ahead!

• Winter weeding: Some tough varieties of plants have evolved to use other plants’ winter dormancy to their advantage, tugging them out now will ensure that you and all the wanted plants in your garden have a fair start this spring.
• Manage snow piling: Heaped snow piling can kill plants including lawn, as well as introduce gravel and debris to areas where gravel is not wanted. Make sure your snow piles aren’t suppressing anything you’d like to live this summer.
• Early spring: Perhaps ice storms and plows have done a number on your trees and shrubs - prune broken branches to prevent pests and disease from entering your plants.
• Litter control: pick up the debris revealed by melting snow so it doesn’t venture farther into natural habitats or tempt wild animals to hurt themselves.  

Outdoors: Start Something New!

• Cold hardy crops in cold frames: Cold frames are doable! Use recycled materials - Victory gardens often used car windshields and old windows – to construct in-ground beds facing the sun (southwards) for passive solar heating.

• Winter sowing: Find more on winter sowing here.

We hope these suggestions help you stay green this spring and winter! For more gardening activities, see our other blogs here. We hope to see you this spring (March 5^th, 2026) at Eising Greenhouses and Garden Centre! 🌱❄️